Nanticoke Indian Tribe
Encyclopedia
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
Algonquian
Algonquian peoples
The Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups, with tribes originally numbering in the hundreds. Today hundreds of thousands of individuals identify with various Algonquian peoples...
people, whose traditional homelands are in Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
and Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
. Today they live in the northeast United States, especially Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
; in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
; and in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
.
History
The Nanticoke people may have originated in LabradorLabrador
Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and migrated through the Great Lake region and the Ohio Valley to the east, along with the Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
and Lenape
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
peoples.
In 1608, the Nanticoke came into European contact, with the arrival of British captain John Smith. They allied with the British and traded beaver pelts with them. They were located in today's Dorchester
Dorchester County, Maryland
Dorchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland on its Eastern Shore. It is bordered by the Choptank River to the north, Talbot County to the northwest, Caroline County to the northeast, Wicomico County to the southeast, Sussex County, Delaware, to the east, and the Chesapeake...
, Somerset
Somerset County, Maryland
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*53.5% White*42.3% Black*0.3% Native American*0.7% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*1.7% Two or more races*1.5% Other races*3.3% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
and Wicomico
Wicomico County, Maryland
As of the census of 2010, there were 98,733 people, 37,220 households, and 24,172 families residing in the county. The population density was 261.7 people per square mile . There were 41,192 housing units at an average density of 109.2 per square mile...
counties.
A reservation, situated between Chicacoan Creek and the Nanticoke River
Nanticoke River
The Nanticoke River is a major tributary of the Chesapeake Bay on the Delmarva Peninsula. It rises in southern Kent County, Delaware, flows through Sussex County, Delaware, and forms the boundary between Dorchester County, Maryland and Wicomico County, Maryland. The river course proceeds southwest...
in Maryland, was formally established by the Nanticokes and British governments in 1684. Non-native peoples encroached upon their lands, so the tribe purchased a 3,000-acre tract of land in 1707 on the Broad Creek in Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
, which they sold in 1768. The Nanticokes obtained permission from the Iroquois Confederacy to settle near Wyoming, Pennsylvania
Wyoming, Pennsylvania
Wyoming is a borough in the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States five miles north of Wilkes Barre, on the Susquehanna River. Formerly, coal mining was the chief industry. In 1900, 1,909 people resided in Wyoming. There were 3,010 residents in 1910...
and along the Juniata River
Juniata River
The Juniata River is a tributary of the Susquehanna River, approximately long, in central Pennsylvania in the United States. The river is considered scenic along much of its route, having a broad and shallow course passing through several mountain ridges and steeply-lined water gaps...
in 1744, although they moved further upriver a decade later. They joined the Piscataway tribe, and were both under the jurisdiction of the League of the Iroquois.
Members of the Conoy people joined the Nanticoke in the 1740s. Together they were neutral in the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
. During the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, they allied with the British. In 1778, two hundred Nanticokes moved north to Fort Niagara
Fort Niagara
Fort Niagara is a fortification originally built to protect the interests of New France in North America. It is located near Youngstown, New York, on the eastern bank of the Niagara River at its mouth, on Lake Ontario.-Origin:...
and then the Six Nations Reserve near Brantford, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Other Nanticokes stayed at Buffalo River
Buffalo River (New York)
The Buffalo River is a river that empties into the eastern end of Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes, by the City of Buffalo in the United States of America. This stream is called the Buffalo River only in the vicinity of the city and is known as Buffalo Creek as it flows through other parts of...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Another group of Nanticoke joined the Lenape
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
and migrated to Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
and in 1867, Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
.
Name
Their autonym is Nentego, which means, "Tidewater People." The Nanticoke chiefdoms are now described as the Wicomoco, Monie and Manokin, which occupied areas along the rivers that were named after them. The Nanticoke had an extensive trading network with tribes throughout the Chesapeake Bay area. Early accounts described the Nanticoke tribes as the Arseek, Cuscarawoc, and Nause.Language
The Nanticoke language was distinct from the Algonquian languages spoken by tribes on the Western Shore of Maryland and along the Potomac River. The Nanticoke language has since become extinct. The last speaker was Lydia Clark, who died in the 1840s.Modern day
Today, some Nanticoke people are part of the federally recognized Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation in Ontario, Canada. The ones who traveled west with the Delaware are part of the federally recognized Delaware Tribe of IndiansDelaware Tribe of Indians
The Delaware Tribe of Indians, sometimes called the Eastern Delaware, based in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, is one of two federally recognized tribe of Lenape Indians, along with the Delaware Nation based in Anadarko, Oklahoma.-History:...
in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. The Nanticoke Indian Association of Millsboro
Millsboro, Delaware
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,360 people, 1,045 households, and 619 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,367.9 people per square mile . There were 1,153 housing units at an average density of 668.3 per square mile...
has been a state recognized tribe in Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
since 1922. The Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Indians are a state recognized tribe in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
Nanticoke Indian Association
In 1744 other Nanticoke settled near the Indian RiverIndian River (Delaware)
The Indian River is a river and estuary, approximately 15 mi long, in Sussex County in southern Delaware in the United States....
in Delaware. They reorganized as the Nanticoke Indian Association and were recognized as a tribe by the state in 1881. They have their headquarters in Millsboro
Millsboro, Delaware
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,360 people, 1,045 households, and 619 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,367.9 people per square mile . There were 1,153 housing units at an average density of 668.3 per square mile...
. In 1922 they were chartered as a non-profit organization. They organized annual powwow
PowWow
PowWow is a wireless sensor network mote developed by the Cairn team of IRISA/INRIA. The platform is currently based on IEEE 802.15.4 standard radio transceiver and on an MSP430 microprocessor...
s, carrying them on until the mid-1930s, during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. In 1977 the tribe revived the annual event. Later they built a museum in honor of their heritage, to teach their children and other Americans.
In 2002 Kenneth S. "Red Deer" Clark Sr., the head chief of the association, and Assistant Chief, his son "Little Owl" Clark, resigned.
"Tee" Norwood was elected chief and served until 2008 who was then replaced by Larry Jackson, elected in 2008. Chief Robbins currently leads the organization.
Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Indians
Some Nanticoke settled across the Delaware Bay in southern New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, where they joined the Lenape and intermarried with them. The Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Indians of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
are recognized by that state and based in Bridgeton
Bridgeton, New Jersey
Bridgeton is a city in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States, in the south part of the state, on the Cohansey River, near Delaware Bay. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 25,349. It is the county seat of Cumberland County...
. They have members with mixed Nanticoke and Lenape
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
ancestry. Both tribes were historically Algonquian
Algonquian languages
The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...
speaking, and there have been years of intermarriage between them.
External links
- Nanticoke Indian Association, Delaware, official website
- Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Indian Of New Jersey, New Jersey, official website
- Delaware Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma, official website
- Six Nations of the Grand River, Ontario, official website